Monthly Archives: September 2014

If you’re a fan of Ken Burns, and faithfully tuned in to The Roosevelts: An Intimate History, here is a bit of travel news to consider. The filmmaker has an ongoing partnership with Tauck, a tourism company, and together they’ve created another chapter on the presidential family: seeing New York City in the way that Teddy, Franklin and Eleanor knew it.

Set for October 1- 5, 2015, the Tauck-Burns New York City event will take attendees around the Big Apple, where all three prominent Roosevelts once lived. It will also highlight Burns’ other New York inspired films such as his documentary on the Brooklyn Bridge.

This one-time only event will feature an appearance by Burns at Lincoln Center’s New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. He will give a presentation featuring clips from his documentaries along with his longtime collaborator, Geoffrey C. Ward, who co-wrote the companion book to the Roosevelts film with Burns.

Attendees will also go on an in-depth tour of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelts’ home on East 65th Street. This townhouse was a wedding gift from FDR’s mother, Sara Delano Roosevelt, who then moved into the home with the newlyweds. Many of FDR’s famous “fireside chats” happened here as well.

Photo Credit: Roosevelt House on East 65th Street

New York City has been a focal point in several of Burns’ documentaries, from his very first PBS film Brooklyn Bridge to The Statue of Liberty, The Central Park Five and Prohibition. The Tauck New York City Event will also delve into many facets of NYC’s history and culture through themed daily sightseeing “tracks.” They include:

– “New York’s First Families: The Gilded Age,” exploring uptown Manhattan and residents of that era including the Roosevelts, Carnegies, Astors and Fricks.

– “Land of Opportunity,” heading downtown to examine the experiences of newly-arrived immigrants during an exclusive tour of the Tenement Museum. This track also examines the other side of the coin by chronicling the exploits of Wall Street titans.

– “New York Innovation,” focuses on midtown Manhattan locations and the people who shaped the city’s past and influence it today.

Photo credit: The Tenement Museum

The Tauck New York City Event starts at $6,990 per person, including accommodations, gratuities and most meals. Budget conscious travelers could also do a self-guided tour of most of these NYC icons. Note: The Roosevelts’ home on East 65th Street now is owned by Hunter College, so double check on its visitor policy before going there. The public can also walk by and go inside Teddy Roosevelt’s birthplace (a replica) at East 20th Street. I also highly recommend visiting the Tenement Museum. Tickets are required and it’s best to get them in advance.

Although I came late to The Old Bowery Station in New York City’s downtown area, I did still get the chance to taste some Swedish delicacies at an invitation-only event held by Visit Sweden last week. The afternoon gathering was all about learning and tasting foods from Western Sweden as part of Visit Sweden’s #TrySwedish promotion.

One of the great food locations on Sweden’s Western coast is the seaside city of Gothenburg. Gothenburg gets high marks for multiple seafood varieties and I was able to sample some Nordic style sushi. If you happen to get to this city, vRÅ is recommended as a good place for sushi and the Michelin starred Sjömagasinet is known for both its fine traditional and creative seafood dishes. I also got to sip on a lovely berry-flavored Rekorderlig Cider, which originated in Sweden.

In addition to what I ate–and what I sadly missed out on eating–it was nice to later read up on Swedish culinary traditions and growing food movements such saving and using more of indigenous ingredients and a renaissance of artisan beverages. Bread and cakes are said to be still much loved in Sweden, from kanelbullar cinnamon rolls (there’s actually a Cinnamon Bun Day every October!) to a dark rye called kavring.

Culinary accolades also go beyond Gothenburg. In Sweden’s Jämtland region, the city of Östersund has been designated as a UNESCO City of Gastronomy with its fine cheeses and meats, herbs, and breads.

Plus with culinary tourism growing in public taste, it’s fitting that Sweden’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had the foodie foresight to initiate a campaign called “Sweden – the New Culinary Nation” in 2008. It has an ambitious goal of making Sweden a leading country for food by 2020.

Last week’s event tied in with the second annual NORTH Food Festival, a week-long showcase of Nordic culinary presentations and tastings. Learn more about #TrySwedish here.

I like scouting out free events, so if you’re into visiting museums (like I am), here is one offer not to pass up.

“Smithsonian Magazine Museum Day Live!” is providing free admission for two to participating museums across the United States, Puerto Rico and U.S. territories this Saturday, September 27. This annual event includes a good number of museums and historical or cultural institutions, birthplaces and centers.

The list includes a mixture of places that are either already well-visited, have niche collections or focus on specific subjects. Here is a sampling:

New York CityNew York City Fire Museum

Salem, MassachusettsThe House of the Seven Gables

Los Angeles, CaliforniaThe GRAMMY Museum

San Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego Air & Space Museum

Washington, D.C.Newseum

Yet, with all of them, there’s just a slight catch: You must register to obtain a ticket to the venue of your choosing beforehand. Once your ticket is ready, you can download it and print it and/or access it from your smartphone. My suggestion would be to print a copy to take along. Get your ticket here.

Yes, there are days when we want to quit our jobs instantly and leave our cubicles behind. But with some advance planning, would you go ahead and do it?

If you seek to find your way in this world, while fulfilling a dream of seeing it, consider taking a career break or sabbatical. Recently, I had a virtual Q & A with Sherry Ott of Meet Plan Go – a leading career break movement in North America – on planning and taking this time off and about their upcoming conference in New York City.

How did Meet Plan Go start?The idea for a career break resource came into my mind when I was initially planning my trip in 2006 because I struggled – a lot. There was no information out there about how to do long-term travel or an adult gap year from the American perspective. I found a few books from the UK but it wasn’t the same. I was really frustrated and nervous about taking the leap but felt very alone. I mainly used the only resource out there to help plan at the time – Bootsnall.com.

Meet Plan Go actually started when I met (co-founders) Michaela Potter and Michael Bontempi in New York City after they had also recently finished a three-month career break. We decided to take our passion for the benefits of a traveling break and create a website. It started as Briefcase to Backpack and launched in 2009 and has taken off since then. Via our website and events, you’ll meet like-minded, supportive people, get tools and tips to plan your career break travels, and find inspiration to go by hearing/reading other career breakers’ stories.

How does taking a career break help a person?

Career break benefits are numerous. Most importantly, getting away from of our day-to day-routines is essential for effective thinking. Combine your career break with travel and reap even more benefits. Exposure to cultures that function differently from our own – from language to social customs to public transport – awakens the brain, alerting it to a much broader range of possibilities for being, living, and creating. You will come back to the workforce with skills other peers won’t have.

What factors should a person put into planning a career break?

That’s different for every person. But one of the first things to consider and figure out is budget. Figuring out how much you have to spend or how much you want to spend sets the other decisions in motion; where to go, how long to go, what to do. Next you’ll want to consider what you hope to get out of your break. Are you looking for time away to contemplate a career change, want to knock things off your bucket list, travel before you settle down, etc. All of these things are factors.

We have articles about the various planning choices, a free online 30-day course, and an in-person workshop on September 20 in New York City. But be careful to not get too caught up in planning. We normally recommend that you plan the first third of your trip, then leave the rest open so you can take your temperature and see what it is that you want to do next. Often when people get on the road, their desires and needs change so you need to leave things open to accommodate those changes.

The current economy might make people hesitant to leave their jobs. Why would one still consider taking a career break?

Look, there’s never going to be the perfect time to leave your job and take a risk. Never. So stop waiting for one. You either have the desire to make change and travel or you don’t. If you have that desire, then you’ll want to check out Meet Plan Go, as we are good at fueling it. But if you want warm fuzzies and security in your decision all I can say is that I’ve NEVER talked to anyone who regretted their decision to take a break and travel – NEVER.

I recently wrote an article about how a career break actually enhances your career and learned a lot by interviewing people who used their break as career defining. You can use the time to figure out a career change or focus, or simply revitalize. You will come back with additional skills and you will stand out in a crowd of applications as someone who isn’t afraid to take risks and someone who knows what they want.

What issues might someone face when taking a career break and what can they do to handle and avoid them?

The big fear is always money. But you don’t need a lot of money to travel. Where there’s a will there’s a way. Traveling long term is actually cheaper than living day to day in our current lifestyles. And it’s certainly cheaper than taking vacations. If you don’t have much saved up, then you explore ways that you can work on the road – which can be a really rewarding cultural experience. You can teach English, consult, teach yoga, work at a farm, house sit, and even be a tour guide. Anything is possible, and by traveling slower and more locally, you’ll keep costs down and meet a bunch of people who will connect you to opportunities to make money if that’s what you are looking for.